The moment The B-52s Katie Pierson knew music “could change the world”
The B-52s may seem more like a party band than a political one, but their artistry did change the world. From the enduring cultural relevance of hits like ‘Rock Lobster’ and ‘Love Shack’ to their lengthy career as LGTBQ+ pioneers, the new wave outfit have infused music and audiences with joy since their formation in 1976.
Founding B-52s member and vocalist Kate Pierson initially discovered the transformative power of music at just 15-years-old, through the words of Bob Dylan. While picking out songs from pivotal moments in her life for Pitchfork, Pierson named Dylan’s ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’ as the song that defined her 15th year.
The beloved folk track uses a conversational lyrical style to speak out about issues of warfare, particularly the Cuban Missile Crisis. The verses take on a question-and-answer format, as Dylan asks, “And what did you hear, my darling young one?” before responding to himself, “I heard the sound of a thunder that roared out of a warning, I heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world.” The protest song reflects the destructive nature of war unflinchingly.
At the time, Pierson was yet to forge the quirky new wave sound that would define The B-52s. Instead, she was testing the walters of soft guitar-driven protest music. Pierson was part of a folk protest band called the Sun Doughnuts when she discovered ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’, but her bandmates were unimpressed with the song.
“I played this song for my other bandmates over and over, but they just couldn’t get it,” Pierson recalled. Nonetheless, the ‘Love Shack’ singer was taken by the song and its meaning: “Not only did Dylan’s voice grab me, but the meaning and the message made me realize that the words really matter,” she explained.
Pierson’s teen years collided with the height of the 1960s folk circuit and the budding vocalist found herself drawn to the scene’s greatest songwriters, particularly those who tackled societal issues with their music. “A lot of songs, even ‘Great Balls of Fire,’ are kind of funny, but this song, wow,” she continued, “it really affected my life. I became aware of the civil rights movement through music by people like Dylan, Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell.”
Those artists demonstrated the power of lyricism to Pierson, as she concludes, “When I look back at my life, I wonder why I didn’t run away to Greenwich Village and become a folk singer. That music made me realise songs can really change the world.” Instead of delving further into folk, Pierson changed the world with some of the biggest party anthems of all time.
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